Once Upon a Dream
by Imagination-Parade
Summary: Set after Fallen Kingdom; Owen hadn't spent every night at Claire's since they brought Maisie home – he had a house to finish, and they were still figuring everything out – but he used the key she'd given him to let himself in for the evening, and what he discovered inside made him never want to leave again.


_I ran with an idea that I saw on the Clawen Fics Tumblr that read: "maybe a one shot where one of them has nightmares a lot after (maybe even maisie) and the other has to comfort them back to sleep"_

 _This is nothing but fluff, y'all._

* * *

It was only early evening when Owen walked into Claire's condo, but you wouldn't know that from the looks of the outside world. Dark clouds roamed across the sky, rain beat down heavily on the roof of Claire's top-floor home, and the occasional rumble of thunder crackled so loudly, buildings nearly felt like they were shaking. Owen hadn't spent every night at Claire's – he had a house to finish, and they were still figuring everything out – but Claire's condo seemed more secure than the lone trailer on his piece of land just outside the city. He used the key she'd given him to let himself in, and what he discovered inside made him never want to leave again.

A dim light shone in the living room, illuminating the head of red hair resting against the arm of the couch. It wasn't like Claire to be lying around at that hour, but the sniffles and the whimpers that filled the air quickly told Owen she wasn't alone. He took a few more steps into the room and found Claire, her eyes closed, lying on the couch with Maisie in her arms. The little girl's eyes were red and wet, her arm thrown across Claire's middle. One of Claire's hands cradled the back of Maisie's head while the other lazily rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

Owen grinned. They'd talked about having a child, once, when they weren't bound to anyone or anything except each other. He'd liked the thought, and he was pretty sure Claire had, too, but before they could get too far into the idea, the volcano on Isla Nublar became active again, and Claire's career sabbatical came to a quick end, taking their relationship with it just a few months later. The girl in Claire's arms, though, was quickly worming her way into both of their hearts, and as Owen looked at them together, he thought maybe this was the way he and Claire were always meant to become parents.

Another startling clap of thunder shattered outside, a rattling somewhere within the building following shortly after the intense crescendo. Maisie jumped, the whimpers from her lips increasing, and even Claire's eyes opened in surprise, allowing her a glimpse of the new arrival.

"Hey," Claire whispered, her heartbeat settling as she sunk back into the couch. Maisie abruptly shifted in her arms, and Claire held on a little tighter. "Owen's here. It's okay, sweetheart."

Maisie said hi, getting a quick look at him before collapsing back onto Claire. Owen walked over to the couch, whispering, "Hey," as he leant over, his hand on the back cushions to support his weight. Claire's eyes slipped shut again briefly as Owen softly pecked her lips. He and Claire shared a small smile as Owen sat down in the empty spot at the end of the couch next to Claire's bare feet, where Maisie's didn't quite reach. "What's going on?"

"I thought the rain was just in my dreams, but then the thunder woke me up," Maisie said between tears as Claire stroked the girl's back again.

"That thunder's kind of scary, huh?" Owen said. "You know, I'm a little scared, too." Maisie shook her head no, tears falling from her eyes, and Owen looked at Claire.

"Why don't you go get some water?" Claire suggested, brushing the tears off Maisie's face. "You need to stay hydrated, okay?" Maisie nodded; as she headed for the kitchen, Claire sat up, swinging her legs around Owen to sit next to him. "It's the rain," she sighed.

"The rain?" Owen asked.

"The last time it rained, an Indoraptor was after her," Claire said.

"She woke up screaming again?" he asked. That had been happening a lot in the short time since they'd brought her home. Claire nodded.

"That's why I was letting her sleep in the middle of the day," Claire said with another sigh. It was one thing for one of them to wake up scared and needy and not knowing what was really real; it was so much worse seeing it happen to Maisie, too. "Are you staying tonight?"

"That was the plan," he admitted.

Claire wrapped her arm around his shoulder then, pulling him in for a longer kiss. She kept her arm around him as their kiss came to an end, the side of her head falling against his. There were so many nights, both then and now, of accidentally waking each other up in the middle of the night, cuddling until breathing patterns returned to normal, kissing away nightmares that they both knew were never truly going to quit. At least they could relate to _one_ of the things Maisie was going through now.

"You look good like that," Owen whispered, sliding the hand that had unconsciously found its way to her waist around her back.

"Like what?" Claire asked.

"With Maisie," he clarified. When Claire didn't say anything and instead, just pulled back to stare at him with wide eyes, her lips slightly parted as if she just didn't know _what_ to say, Owen said, "We thought about doing this once."

Claire's lips closed on a small smile. "I remember," she said softly.

As Owen and Claire's reminiscent gaze upon one another held, Maisie's voice rang out from just outside the room. "Are you guys done talking yet?" she called.

Claire nearly snorted as she and Owen let each other go. "She saw right through me, didn't she?"

"We're not gonna be able to outsmart her," Owen agreed.

Claire chuckled and called for the girl to come back in. She hurried straight back to Claire, sitting on the thigh not still healing from the encounter with the Indoraptor. Claire wrapped Maisie in her arms again and leaned back against the couch, staying in place besides Owen. He grabbed the remote for the TV and waved it in front of Maisie's face.

"How about we drown out this storm with something funny, huh?" he offered. "You pick."

Maisie clicked through the available movies, and Owen sat back against the couch, too, slinging his arm around Claire's shoulders. Maisie snuggled into her neck as her chosen movie began, and Claire glanced up at Owen, playfully rolling her eyes as she saw the grin that had returned to his face as he looked at them. He smirked and tugged her to him, encouraging Claire to lean into him as Maisie had leaned into her. The storm carried on outside, but with Claire's comforting hand in her hair and the gentle glow of the television across the room, it wasn't long at all before the little girl that had changed their lives was again sleeping soundly on Claire's shoulder.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! Reviews are always welcome :)_


End file.
